


A Sleeping Tiger....

by Hideyori



Series: The Tiger Awakens [1]
Category: BattleTech: MechWarrior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 21:08:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14679537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hideyori/pseuds/Hideyori





	1. Chapter 1

Hideyori Tamiya was just a tad under six foot tall and his build showed that he had spent most of his young life in training as a mechwarrior. Therefore he walked with an air of confidance into his favorite bar, briefly looked around and upon spotting his best friend Bagavathy, made his way to his table. ‘John Fitzgerald’s Old Pub’ was the usual spot the two met up after work along with a few other friends. It had seen better days but the wood floors, walls, and bar were always clean. Dark with age perhaps but still clean. A waitress recognized him as a regular and asked if he wanted the usual to which he nodded yes.  
“I started without you” said Baga in his deep bass voice. He stretched his legs and pushed a chair out toward his friend.  
As he sat Hideyori looked at his friend and raised an eyebrow. “That kind of rough day? I know I did.” He scanned the bar on reflex to see if any of their other friends had shown up.  
Baga shrugged his big shoulders. “It’s Friday so everything had to be shipped out. Or at least that is what the bosses wanted. Change of plans when the news came that there was a delay with the incoming dropship. Won’t be here till Sunday morning due to some malfunction. We still had to get it all set up for the pickup.” He took a sip of his beer. “I got paid some overtime because of it so figured I would spend it on a few extra drinks.”  
Hideyori nodded in agreement. The two had been friends since they were kids, many days spent making plans on how they would take their mechs and go on to become legends by this time. Just when they were both old enough to get the mechs, the planet was attacked by the clans. Many of the planetary defenders went off to try and fight the superior forces. Many did not come back and less than 20% of the mechs were able to be salvaged. Hideyori and his friend were left dispossessed, although technically they had never even owned a mech. Mentally shrugging himself out of his reverie, Hideyori smiled and thanked the waitress as she brought him his beer.  
“To you my hardworking friend” said Hideyori, raising his glass toward Baga who smiled and raised his in return.  
Baga looked sideways at his friend after a moment. “Ever think where we would be now if the Clans hadn’t invaded?” The question was enough to let Hideyori know he wasn’t the only one feeling nostalgic tonight.  
“Those kind of thoughts will make me want to drink a lot more tonight” was his response.  
Baga grunted then said “Remember how much fun and optimistic we were in school? I miss those days where we felt the sky was the limit.”  
“I think you remember those days much differently than I do. Looking at how naïve we were compared to this reality though, I see the appeal to that longing, I really do.” Hideyori finished his beer and signaled for two more to the waitress.  
“Ha! I guess I am just tired of being stuck in this job, piloting a loader, when all I ever wanted to be was a mechwarrior.” Baga looked down at the table. “I feel like this is all I will ever do or be now.”  
Hideyori’s eyes widened as his friends words echoed his own thoughts so well. “Yea, we can’t even get into the militia without a mech. Unless you want to be infantry?“ He sighed in resolution. “Definitely going to be drinking a lot tonight….”.


	2. Part 2

Guillermo ‘Gui’ Torres glanced around without thinking and saw his two friends, Hideyori Tamiya and Baga Miksek at a table. Gui was well liked, short, and another of the dispossessed. He wasn’t friends with the other two since childhood but they had all become good friends in the last year. They all had the mutual experience of having their future dashed on the hard rocks of reality so they gravitated toward each other. Misery loves company as they say.  
“How many am I behind?” Giu said as he took his seat. The other two smiled.  
Hideyori spoke first “just two rounds. We can slow down a little to give you some time to make up ground.”   
“No worries. I have all weekend now.” He motioned the waitress for a round.  
“Oh? How did you get so lucky?” asked Baga. Gui was the only one of them that had found a position in the militia. While he was a trained mech pilot he was very good at military supplies. Gui knew everyone and had the reputation of being able to get anything for a price. He would always have a position with that ability even if he would never pilot a mech.  
“Lucky is right! I thought I was going to work a straight 24 or even 36 hours for procurement with that dropship coming in tomorrow night. Then an hour ago Petty Officer Lewis comes to me with some sob story about needing next weekend off for family. So she offered me 100 c-bills to trade this weekend for next weekend.” Gui smiled has he paid the waitress for the round she brought to the table.  
Baga laughed. “Ha! I know that ship is not coming in till Sunday morning. We had a big scramble to get ready for it this afternoon.”  
His face showed his puzzlement as Gui looked at this friend. “I don’t know where you got that information but I saw the paperwork showing the arrival time. Midnight tomorrow night.”  
Baga shrugged. “The way we lined up the stuff from the factory they can be loaded by dawn if they want.”  
Sliding his chair back, Hideyori stood up. “Gotta hit the bathroom. Don’t touch my beer.” It was the usual comment between them. He knew his beer would be there when he got back, untouched.


	3. part 3

Making his way to the bathroom didn’t take long even though the bar was starting to get crowded. Once inside he had to take a stall as the urinals were either taken or out of order. He sat down and pulled out his comm unit to check if he had any messages. That was depressing since he had nothing but ads in his inbox. Resigning himself to just having that kind of night, he put his comm unit away and he heard the door to the bathroom swing open and the sounds of some people leaving and others coming in.   
“You believe that crap? Finally get a weekend without duty and we get called out for maneuvers? On a Friday night?” The voice was angry and deep as it moved toward the urinals.  
“Don’t complain to me. I gotta go too. Force march 40 klicks, spend the night digging in, then 40 klicks back.” A voice tinged with more whining than anger added.  
The sound of toilets flushing followed. “Why did we ever join the militia? Easy money they said, ha! We grunts march while the officers ride around and tell us we need to move faster.” Whatever was said after that was drowned by the sound of the faucet running water. Shortly after that the door opened and the two people had left.  
Hideyori was not sure why he hadn’t gotten up and left but something about what he had overheard had him thinking. He got up and washed his hand and went to rejoin his friends.  
Gui was obviously on his second beer while Baga may have been on his third or still his second, hard to tell since his glass was need empty. Hideyori picked up his beer and took a drink as he sat back down.  
“You don’t look so good. Everything all right?” asked Gui.   
Hideyori looked up. “Not sure. I have a feeling something weird is going on and I can’t quite figure out why.” He leaned in so his head was closer to his friends. The music had gotten livelier and louder so no one thought it looked out of the ordinary.  
Baga slowly put his drink down and out his elbows on the table, setting his shoulders square toward his friend. “This is not good. Is it one of those special feelings you sometimes get?”  
Gui moved his eyes between the other two. “Special feeling? I already bought a round so don’t go trying some funny joke just to get me to buy another.”  
“This guy..” Baga motioned his thumb at Hideyori “was top of his class at the academy in field tactics. He never fell for an ambush because he would get a feeling. His mind would put things together that normal people didn’t notice. Vegetation too dense for the terrain or too spare….something out of place. Whatever it was, anyone in his group learned to go with it. Never failed us.”  
Gui put his hands up in surrender. “Every mechwarrior needs luck as much as skill to be good… so far be it from me to doubt.”  
“What we have is a scramble from the local Luthien Armor Works to get material ready for an incoming dropship. Then that ship is going to be a day and half late. At the same time the local militia gets a readiness call out that will make sure it couldn’t respond to any emergency. Especially if that ship comes in earlier than expected.” Hideyori glanced up to his friends. “Am I imagining things or does that sound like either a major FUBAR or something else is going on?”  
Baga whistled slowly. “The stuff we got ready was supplies for regular DCMS units. Repair parts, armor, and ammunition, that sort of stuff. Enough to keep a company in good repair for a while.”  
Raising his eyebrow Hideyori replied “That could bring in a lot of c-bills if someone was enterprising enough.”  
“But I would hate to be anyone trying to take that stuff with a DCMS dropship coming in for it. Where are you going to go with all that and not be hunted down? No way they are going to let that go.” Baga lifted his glass and finished his beer, sure that his rationale would be the end of the discussion.  
Hideyori raised his finger to show he had an idea. “What if that is not a DCMS dropship?” He opened his hand palm out stop his friends from answering. “You said yourself that it wouldn’t take long to load that stuff up after the way you staged it.” He turned toward Gui. “With the militia forty klicks away who would be in charge of the dropship landing?”  
Gui’s eyes got very wide as the answer to the question came to his mind. “Procurement. Specifically the duty officer. Which this weekend is now Petty Officer Lewis. Who seemed very desperate to take the job for the weekend.”  
The three friends sat in silence for a few minutes. Each trying to find the error in the conclusions they were drawing. Finally Baga spoke. “We could go to the militia HQ and let them know?”  
“Won’t do any good as they will all be out planning the forced march route. Lewis is in charge” said Gui. “And before you suggest it, the local authorities are not going to listen to what we are saying without some proof.”  
“What size ship is incoming Gui?” said Hideyori. His tone of voice hinting that he maybe had an idea.   
“An Aurora class. Not sure how many modules it has on it.” Gui turned to Baga “How many tons of equipment is there ready to go?”  
Looking between his two friends and falling back into a military mindset, Baga replied “100 tons, maybe 150 or more”.  
“They couldn’t be one hundred percent sure that all defense forces will be moved away. They will have to have some mech support on it.” Hideyori mused out loud.  
Gui spoke quickly, the moment starting to get to him. “Could have up to four attached pods, each carrying one mech up to 100 tons each.”  
“100 tons! No way they’d have that much for this kind of stealth hit and run” scoffed Baga.  
Hideyori smiled. “Correct. Possibly mediums at most, more likely lights. Unlikely standing military as there are too many “if’s” in this plan that could go wrong. Possibly mercs as we are not close enough to the border to make this a feasible raid.”  
“What are we going to do about it?” Gui and Baga said at the same time. Neither could keep the eagerness out of their voices.  
Hideyori smiled as he also felt the energy as the plan began to formulate in his mind. “We’re going to need some uniforms from the company Baga.”  
“No problem. Three dockworker uniforms will be easy.” Baga signaled for another round of beer from the waitress.  
“Not three. We’ll need four.” Hideyori sat back and waited.  
Gui was first to ask. “Four? Who else we going to get involved in this?”   
Hideyori’s eyes twinkled as he looked at his two friends. “We’re going to need someone serious if this goes sideways. Very serious.”  
Baga groaned. “Uh, ‘Yori…..I know who you’re thinking of. You sure about this? I mean, you lead and I follow. I just want to make sure you thought this part through.”  
Gui looked puzzled. “Care to enlighten me a bit? I can read between the lines and the way you two are acting, this has got to be some scary guy.”  
“You got that half right. When the clan landed here we all fought as best we could. One person went above and beyond. Bordered on obsessive hatred for the clan. Reportedly killed three of their Elementals in hand to hand. Not all at once but taking out even one of those big bastards is an amazing trick.” Baga looked at Hideyori as he finished talking.  
Gui looked even more confused. “Ok, scary is a good term for this guy. What’s the half that you haven’t mentioned?”  
Putting his drink down, Hideyori looked at Gui directly. “Locke is my half sister. She is the daughter of my father’s mistress and we didn’t know about it till three years ago. That was also the last time I saw her although I have kept tabs on her.”  
“You forgot to mention that was when she said she hated you and never wanted to see you ever again.” Baga added.  
Hideyori stopped smiling. “Yea, there’s that. I am hoping three years and some more maturity on both our parts will soften that disposition.”  
“If she does hate you and you are going to try and talk to her, that could derail this plan before we get to the point of no return. So we have that possibility.” Baga raised his glass in mock salute to his friends.


	4. Part 4

Locke Pedersen looked nothing like her Asian father but every bit of her mother’s Nordic ancestry was displayed on her. Tall, blonde, and muscular, she was the mythic Valkrie walking amidst the slain, choosing who would go to Valhalla to party forever. The battlefield that she looked upon this night was a rowdy dive bar, “Medusa’s Landmark Lounge”. Her blue eyes scanned the crowd from her seat by the door. She wore a black t-shirt that said ‘Security’ in white letters across the back. The sleeves were cut off but in the darkness of the bar it was hard to tell since her arms were covered in dark, scrolling tattoos.  
She shared a quick glance and nod to one of the bartenders. It was a signal that she could use a water when he got a chance. Locke always drank water while working even when it was an obviously slow night. The place was not even half full and those people who were there were being quiet, not looking to start anything. That happens when there was no live music on a Friday Night. It didn’t matter to Locke as she got paid either way. Chances were she would get off early when it was like this.   
The recorded music was playing something fast and loud when she saw the door open. Her face contorted into her usual tough and bored security look. This consisted mostly of narrowing her eyes and removing all expression from her face. The bars rules stated no weapons and that meant on a night like this all she had to do was a quick pat down of anyone entering. So she was standing her full six foot four inches in the way of the man who took a step inside the door. They met eyes and it is hard to say who was more surprised.  
Hideyori was the first to talk. “Hey Locke”. As far as first lines go it could have been a lot worse. Probably.  
Locke stole a quick glance past him to make sure no one else was coming in. “Hey” was all she managed to say.  
“Can we talk?” He never let his eyes wander, just stayed focused on her face.  
She met his eyes and held them for a few seconds, considering his request. Finally she turned her head and motioned to one of the other bouncers. He nodded and moved over to take her spot by the door. “Thanks Mac. Tell Charlie I am calling it a night.” She nodded to Hideyori “Family issues”.  
She grabbed a light jacket from a hook on the wall and motioned Hideyori back out the door. “There is a quiet place down the block”.  
“Thanks” he held the door absently with his left arm and then walked beside her. His stride and hers were not that unmatched so he didn’t have to speed up and she didn’t have to slow down. Neither spoke as they walked to a small bar that only had three other customers in it. They took a table and ordered beers from the tired waitress.  
“So?” Locke started and was proud that she kept her voice even, no sign of anger in it.  
Hideyori took a long breath before starting. “I owe you an apology. I was angry at my…our father when I met you, for many reasons. He was dead and there you were so I wrongly took out my frustrations at you. You didn’t deserve it in any way. I am sorry.”  
She laughed and snorted through her nose for a few seconds. Finally she managed to get a hold of herself and noticed his very confused face. She waved her hand in dismissal. “I have no idea of what it is like to let your emotions get the best of you.” She softened her words with a smile. “I was mad at my mom, she was gone and never told me I had a brother. At the time I was entering my final year of the academy and might have had some anger issues to work out. So I am sorry for what I said.”  
“How about we call it even and start fresh?” Hideyori raised his glass in salute.  
Locke raised her glass to meet his. “I’m good with that.” She took a drink. “How’d you find me by the way?”  
He pinched his lips. “The day after we last saw each other I already regretted my words. But my pride kept me from finding you and explaining. It didn’t keep me from keeping track of you though. Especially after the invasion started.”  
“Say what?” Locke took a deep breath.   
“Your my sister and I wanted to know how to find you if I ever got the courage to apologize.” Seeing she was not really angry he continued. “During the war…well, I tried to help you as much as I could.”  
She rapped her knuckles on the table and pointed at him. “The supplies that mysteriously showed up? That was you?”  
“It was the least I could do.”  
“That shit saved my ass so many times….” Locke looked seriously at him. “That alone makes things more than right between us. You ever need anything, just let me know.”  
“Careful what you say.” Hideyori lowered his voice and leaned forward. “I recently came into some information that has the potential to become lucrative. Probably very dangerous though. If you want in just say so. But you do it because you want to, not because you think you owe me. To be very clear, you do not owe me anything. You are the last of my immediate family and those supplies were your share of the estate our father left us.”  
Locke’s laugh was genuine and clear. “So I can call you big brother now?”  
“Only if I can call you little sister.”  
Locke kept smiling. “How lucrative is this information?”  
He knew she was in. Only a small part of himself regretted it. “If it works out like I think it might….very.” He watched her face closely. “If you could do anything, what would you do?”  
She raised one eyebrow. “Easy. I want my own mech. Always have. You can thank dad for that impossible dream.”  
“I haven’t said anything to anyone else yet and I need to check with some sources I have but that may not be impossible.” He saw the hope on her face and knew it was the same that he felt. “Care to play bodyguard the rest of tonight? We have to move fast.”  
“You’re not kidding about the mech?” She watched him shake his head. “I’m so in. I will gut the idiot like a fish that gets between me and this chance.”  
“Alright. Next question. What size dress do you wear?”


End file.
